And Reuben returned unto the pit; and behold Joseph was not in the pit: and he rent his clothes. And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?

And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood: and the coat of many colours they brought to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or no?

And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him: Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.

And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sack-cloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son, mourning: thus his father wept for him.

ANNOTATIONS AND REFLECTIONS.

The sons of Jacob were not all the children of one mother; for according to the custom of the age he lived in, this patriarch had several wives, viz. Leah and her hand-maid Zilpah; Rachel and her hand-maid Bilhah. As there were jealousies and dissensions among the women, it is most likely that their children formed parties adverse to each other. Unfortunately for Joseph, he related some things to his father, of which his brothers wished to keep him ignorant.

We are told, that Jacob's partiality to Joseph was on account of his being the son of his old age. This could not be the case; because there was an equal reason for his giving a preference to Zebulun; and much more for his loving Benjamin better than either of them, as he was 15 years younger; but critics tell us, that this text

is not translated according to the Hebrew Idiom, and that it should have been rendered, because he was a wise and prudent son*.

A learned commentator also informs us, that Joseph's coat, which is in our translation called a coat of many colours, might be denominated a long garment; and is supposed to have been made down to the heels or anIcles, with a border at the bottom, and long sleeves down to the wrist, turned up with the same as the border; which was in ancient times accounted both a noble and honourable dress.

It is evident, that Jacob had a tender solicitude for the welfare of his other sons, or he would not have sent Joseph to inquire after them; and it is apparent, that Joseph himself had an affection for his brethren, by his being so ready to go, and so diligent in seeking them.

Joseph's dreams certainly were from Gon, and were presages of his future greatness. It was usual, in the early ages of the world, (before there were Scriptures especially) for the LORD to make known future events, by a kind of revelation, which are sometimes denominated visions of the night. These were very different from common dreams.

Little did poor Joseph think, when the vanity of a youthful heart led him to relate his dreams to his brethren, that he was furnishing food for their envy!

If the sons of Jacob even supposed that Joseph invented the dreams, it was very unjust to think of punishing him with death; and if they really thought that he was divinely inspired, it was impious to attempt to frustrate the purpose of the ALMIGHTY.

Reuben, who was the son of Leah, and Jacob's firstborn, seems to have been of a more compassionate turn

* Stackhouse on the Bible; also Essay for a new Translation of the Bible.

of

of mind than Joseph's other brethren. It seems that he did not remain with the rest.

How shocking it is to read, that after having stripped their brother, and thrown him into a pit, they sat down to eat, though they had witnessed the anguish of his soul, and heard his earnest entreaties that they would have compassion on him! Judah seems to have abhorred the sin of fratricide; but he so far agreed with the rest, that he wished the object of their mutual envy to be removed out of the way.

The Midianitish merchantmen are supposed to have been some of the descendants of Midian, one of the sons of Abraham and Keturah; and the Ishmaelites were of the posterity of Ishmael. These travellers seem to have associated together for safety and society, as is still the custom in those eastern countries, which are infested with wild beasts and robbers. Their arrival at this critical period was a providential interposition.

Rending the clothes appears, from several passages of Scripture, to have been the ancient way of express ing grief for calamity, or sorrow for sin.

Jacob's affliction for the loss of his son was very natural; yet he was certainly wrong in refusing to be comforted, and in resolving to mourn to the day of his own death; but we may suppose that he made use of these expressions in the first transports of his grief, and afterwards patiently submitted to what he concluded to be the will of GOD.

It is needless to expatiate on the wickedness of Joseph's brethren; but it may be necessary to point out to young persons, that they should be very careful not to carry evil reports of each other to their parents. Joseph's imprudence in telling tales, and his father's in listening to them, seem to have furnished his brethren with the first pretence for openly expressing their hatred of him: not that this justified their malice; for they were men of experi

ence in the world, and ought to have excused Joseph in consideration of his youth. Besides, it is a very great meanness as well as a sin to indulge envy on any occasion.

Young persons may farther learn from the error of Joseph, that it is exceedingly dangerous to boast of superior advantages. None, indeed, can expect, like Joseph, to have divine revelations: but we may chance to have distinctions of another kind, from which we may promise ourselves advancement in the world; in these cases, we should be extremely cautious not to provoke jealousy and envy in the minds of our relations, by exulting over them.

It is shocking to think, that it should ever enter into the hearts of men, to sell and buy each other for slaves ! Yet how many people are there still existing in the world, who follow this inhuman traffick, with as much composure as Jacob's sons did: one party receiving money in exchange for those, who, if not brethren by blood, are so by nature; the other tearing away a promising youth, or helpless virgin (the sole comfort perhaps of their aged parents), a wife from her beloved and affectionate husband, a tender mother from her darling child, never, never more to meet again the dear objects of their best affections; but condemned, for the remainder of their wretched lives, to the vilest drudgery, the most inku man cruelty, and the hardest fare! O that such unnatural merchandizers would but reflect on the anguish of mind they occasion! Anguish, which rankles in the soul, more than an envénomed and barbed arrow in the flesh!

SECTION XLV.

JOSEPH CAST INTO PRISON.

From Genesis, Chap. xxix.

AND Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Po tiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an

Egyptian,

Egyptian, bought him of the hand of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither.

And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.

And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.

:

And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had, in the house, and in the field.

And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat: and Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured. And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; there is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me, but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against GOD?

And it came to pass as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.

And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.

And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with